THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Monterrey back at the top of Liga MX mountain, Zlatan returns to Milan
Dec 31, 2019, 6:00 am
Monterrey fans are celebrating the club's 5th Liga MX title, one month after seeing them play Club America in a friendly at BBVA Stadium in Houston.
As the calendar year comes to a close, European leagues have hit their midseason point while Mexican soccer crowned a new champion.
Liga MX Apertura 2019 Final
After a 2-1 Monterrey win in the first leg, a 2-1 win by Club America in the second leg sent the Liga MX final to extra time and penalties. It was in the penalty shootout that "Rayados" outlasted America, 4-2, to capture their fifth league title.
The win caps off a rollercoaster season where Monterrey fired their manager midseason, rehired former manager Antonio Mohamed (who has now won his third Liga MX title with as many teams as a Manager) and captured the final playoff spot to win the title. In the middle of their playoff run, Monterrey played Liverpool to a 2-1 defeat that could've easily gone their way in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Clausura 2020 season kicks off on January 10.
English Premier League
The Premier League had the spotlight on them twice this week with the Boxing Day tradition gifting fans matches after Christmas. At the forefront of the PL talk was VAR (video assistant referee) decisions due to a number of goals being called back.
Top six: 1. Liverpool (55), 2. Leicester City (42), 3. Man City (41), 4. Chelsea (35), 5. Manchester Utd (31), 6. Tottenham (30)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Aston Villa (18), 19. Watford (16), 20. Norwich City (13)
Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 12 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Scottish Premier League
A second-half Nikola Katić goal gave Rangers a first win at Celtic Park in 9 years, making it a two points difference in the title race.
Top three: 1. Celtic (52), 2. Rangers (50), 3. Motherwell (37)
Bottom two (relegation): 11. Hamilton (18), 12. Hearts (13)
Scoring leader: 13 - Odsonne Edouard (Celtic)
Assists leader: 9 - James Forrest (Celtic)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to A.C. Milan
#IZBACK 🔙🔴⚫ Read the story of how football has been Zlatan'ed in our focus on @Ibra_official 👉🏻… https://t.co/F7LtQl08mj— AC Milan (@AC Milan) 1577528163.0
One of the bigger news over the Christmas break was the announcement of Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to Serie A with A.C. Milan. The Rossoneri are currently 11th in the standings, 14 points removed from fourth place and a Champions League spot that used to be a given for the seven time European champions.
MLS offseason
Welcome, @AlonsoDT! The Uruguayan becomes first ever coach of #InterMiamiCF, and is the only coach to win the Con… https://t.co/f2Zay3p7vF— Inter Miami CF (@Inter Miami CF) 1577722283.0
David Beckham's Miami expansion club announced the signing of Uruguayan manager Diego Alonso. The 44-year-old enjoyed success in Liga MX by guiding Pachuca to the Clausura 2016 title, the 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League title and a 3rd place finish at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup. He guided Monterrey to Concacaf Champions League crown earlier this year before being fired midway through the Apertura 2019 season.
Houston Dynamo sign two players
Sources tell me that midfielder @marcelopalo has come to terms with @HoustonDynamo . The former Dynamo Academy play… https://t.co/DW28jtSuIy— Glenn Davis (@Glenn Davis) 1577712104.0
The Houston Dynamo are reportedly about to announce the signings of former Dynamo Academy and youth U.S. National Team midfielder Marcelo Palomino and young European goalkeeper Marko Maric.
TV listings (All Times CT):
Wednesday, January 1
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Brighton vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester City vs. Everton (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Manchester United (NBC Sports, Universo)
Thursday, January 2
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Sheffield United (NBC Sports, Universo)
Friday, January 3
12:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Valladolid vs. Leganes (beIN Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Sevilla vs. Athletic Bilbao (beIN Sports)
Saturday, January 4
6:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Rochdale vs. Newcastle (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Fulham vs. Aston Villa (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Getafe vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Wolves vs. Man United (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Leicester vs. Wigan (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Manchester City vs. Port Vale (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Levante (beIN Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Espanyol vs. Barcelona (beIN Sports)
Sunday, January 5
8:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Middlesbrough vs. Tottenham (ESPN+)
8:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Crystal Palace vs. Derby (ESPN+)
8:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest (ESPN+)
10:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Liverpool vs. Everton (ESPN+)
12:15 p.m. - [FA Cup] Gillingham vs. West Ham (ESPN+)
1:30 p.m. - [Serie A] Roma vs. Torino (ESPNews, ESPN Deportes)
Monday, January 6
8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] AC Milan vs. Sampdoria (ESPN+)
8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Juventus vs. Cagliari (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Napoli vs. Inter (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [FA Cup] Arsenal vs. Leeds United (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [Coupe de France] Linas Montlhery vs. PSG (beIN Sports)
Luis Robert Jr. tied it with an RBI single with two outs in the sixth inning, stole second base and scored the go-ahead run on Edgar Quero's single as the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Sunday in a game shortened to seven innings by rain.
The game was delayed for 80 minutes before being called. It was the White Sox’s second series victory of the season and their first series win against the Astros since July 2021. Chicago had lost or split its last six series with Houston.
Chicago reliever Mike Vasil (1-1) earned his first career win after holding the Astros without a hit in 2 1/3 innings.
Lance McCullers Jr. made his first start for Houston since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. The 31-year-old right-hander missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons, but kept the White Sox scoreless Sunday in 3 2/3 innings. McCullers allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four.
Astros reliever Steven Okert (1-1) allowed two earned runs in one inning. Zach Dezenzo hit his first homer of the season for Houston and Mauricio Dubón had a two-run single.
Key moment
With two outs in the sixth and a rain delay looming, Robert dropped a 2-1 pitch into center field for a single. Chase Meidroth came around to score from second, tying it at four. Robert stole second, enabling Quero to bring him home on what turned out to be the winning base hit.
Key stat
Entering Sunday, Chicago was 30th in the majors with runners in scoring position, hitting just .202 this season. The White Sox initially struggled, but finished the game 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position. All five of the team’s runs came with two outs.
Up next
The Astros will continue their road trip in Milwaukee, while the White Sox head to Kansas City for a four-game series against the Royals. Both series are scheduled to begin Monday.